Preliminary Injunction Denied in Patent Infringement Case Even Though Three of Four Factors Favored the Injunction
The Southern District of Iowa denied a preliminary injunction for patent infringement in Titan Tire Corp. v. Case New Holland, Inc., 2007 WL 2914513 (S.D. Iowa 10/3/07).
Titan Tire is the licensee of a patent held by Goodyear and brought suit against Case New Holland. The motion for preliminary injunction was denied, but what makes this case interesting is that Titan Tire satisfied all the elements of a preliminary injunction except likelihood of success. CNH established a substantial question of validity by showing the patent is likely obvious when compared to the prior art. That alone was enough to defeat the preliminary injunction.
